Tax Changes & Deadlines
New tax laws, bracket changes, deduction updates, filing deadlines, refund timelines, and what taxpayers need to know each season.
Latest in Tax Changes & Deadlines
You have three years to file a past tax return and still claim a refund before the money is gone
More than 1.3 million people who earned income in 2022 never filed a federal tax return, and according to the IRS, roughly $1.2 billion in...
A homestead exemption can knock hundreds off your yearly property tax bill, but you usually have to apply
Homeowners in states from Florida to California can shave hundreds of dollars off their annual property tax bills through homestead or homeowner exemptions, yet most...
You can deduct up to $2,500 of student loan interest without itemizing
Millions of borrowers who made payments on student loans during the 2025 tax year can reduce their taxable income by as much as $2,500, even...
Most home sellers can pocket up to $250,000 of profit — $500,000 for couples — with no capital gains tax
Homeowners who sell their primary residence and walk away with a profit of $250,000 or less owe zero federal capital gains tax on that money....
You can hand each person $19,000 in 2026 — double for a married couple — with no gift tax and no IRS form
Every person in the United States can give up to $19,000 to any number of recipients in 2026 without owing a cent in gift tax...
Many households will see tax refunds $300 to $1,000 larger next spring under the new law
Millions of American households stand to collect federal tax refunds next spring that are $300 to $1,000 larger than what they received a year earlier,...
The points you pay at closing to buy down your mortgage rate are usually deductible the year you purchase
Homebuyers who paid mortgage points at closing during 2025 face a filing decision right now: deduct the full amount on this year’s return or spread...
Taxpayers 65 and older can stack an extra $6,000 deduction on top of the standard deduction through 2028
Retirees filing their 2025 federal tax returns can claim an extra $6,000 deduction that did not exist a year ago, stacking it on top of...
The child tax credit is $2,200 per kid this year — but the most a lower-income family can get back is $1,700
Families with children will see a larger Child Tax Credit on paper for tax year 2025, but the gap between the full credit and the...
Gamblers can now deduct only 90% of their losses — breaking even at the casino still leaves a tax bill
Gamblers who finish the year with exactly as much in losses as winnings will owe federal income tax for the first time starting with their...
Day camp counts toward the child and dependent care credit — overnight camp never does
Working parents choosing between day camp and overnight camp for their children this summer face a tax distinction that directly affects how much they can...
The average tax refund hit $3,268 this season, about 8% bigger than last year
Tens of millions of American taxpayers received fatter refund checks this spring, with the average payment climbing to $3,276 through early May, an 11.5 percent...
Buyers of new American-built cars can now deduct up to $10,000 a year in loan interest — even if they take the standard deduction
Millions of car buyers who finance a new vehicle assembled in the United States can now subtract up to $10,000 in annual loan interest from...
The $600 Venmo tax-form rule is dead — payment apps now report to the IRS only above $20,000 and 200 transactions
Millions of people who sell goods or accept payments through Venmo, PayPal, Cash App, and similar platforms no longer face the prospect of receiving a...
The Roth IRA income cap rises to $168,000 for single filers in 2026
Single and head-of-household filers earning up to $168,000 in modified adjusted gross income will be eligible to contribute to a Roth IRA for tax year...
The IRA contribution limit rose to $7,500 for 2026
Workers saving for retirement got a concrete, if modest, boost when the IRS set the annual individual retirement account contribution limit at $7,500 for 2026,...
Workers 50 and older who earn more than $150,000 must now make their 401(k) catch-up contributions in a Roth, with after-tax dollars
Employees age 50 and older who earned more than $150,000 from their employer in the prior year can no longer make pre-tax catch-up contributions to...
The SALT cap just quadrupled to $40,400 for single filers under the OBBB — for the first time since 2017, blue-state taxpayers can deduct most of their state taxes
For eight years, a single filer in Westchester County, New York, paying $22,000 in property taxes and $16,000 in state income taxes watched $28,000 in...
The IRS holds about $1 billion in tax refunds nobody filed for — and you have three years from a return’s due date before the money disappears for good
On April 15, 2026, the IRS permanently closed the books on an estimated $1.2 billion in unclaimed refunds from tax year 2022. That money now...
Most states give a tax deduction for 529 contributions even if you withdraw the money the same month — a same-year parking trick that trims state tax bills
Every spring, a familiar tip makes the rounds on Reddit, TikTok, and personal-finance blogs: contribute to a 529 education savings plan, claim your state’s tax...